USC student Mei Yueh works on pottery at the McMaster Gallery.

There is more to art than meets the eye. The professors at the McMaster Gallery and USC Art building thrive on this concept. Inside their studios and classrooms, artistic storytellers dwell, using their fine arts media to express their storylines, adventures, and philosophies.

“We have over 800 art majors,” said Phil Dunn, chairman of the USC Art Department. “We are like a small college of our own.”

The McMaster Gallery was formerly McMaster Elementary School. At one time, the divisions of the USC Art Department were spread out among the collegiate campus, but moving to this building helped the department unify. “We have already grown out of this space,” Dunn explained. “We need more classrooms, more storage space, less stairwells. We are bursting at the seams. There is no space on campus.”

The slide library holds over 200,000 art slides that are in the process of being digitized because Kodak is no longer making slide projectors. Dunn said the transferring of slides to a CD disc would prove to be advantageous. Students would be able to study the slides on the Internet, and the historical and contemporary slides could be shared with the community with easy access.

Graphic arts appears to be the most popular media for undergraduates. The computer lab is updated every three years with new Macintosh computers. The art students entering the graphic art lab lend to a fostering of a dynamic, collaborative environment for critical study, and creative practice.

The Graphic Arts Department demands a continuous portfolio review requiring a competitive edge of all students. The students would benefit with more computer space for the popular and fast growing department.

The art department is now venturing into a business partnership with the community. For example, USC students worked with low–country artist, Jonathan Green to produce silk screens promoted by the union of the artist and the ballet.

The USC Art Department recently acquired two Huntington sculptures. The school is in the process of restoring the majestic horse sculptures to their former brilliance.

The school recognizes the importance of the humanities in shaping future media leaders and storytellers who will face many cultural, ethical, and political changes in the 21st century.